The Avalanche was relatively small and unquestionably weak defensively a season ago, but the nucleus of its revamped blue line looks more like the front four of a defensive line in football.

The Avs, who allowed an NHL-high 288 goals last season, are banking on bigger bodies making life easier for new goalies Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere — and coach Joe Sacco.

Defensemen Jan Hejda, Shane O’Brien, Erik Johnson and Ryan O’Byrne — who all were playing elsewhere on opening night a year ago — average 6-foot-4, 233 pounds.

Throw in 207-pounders Kyle Quincey and Ryan Wilson, and that possible six-man corps might even intimidate Detroit’s forwards in the Oct. 8 season opener against the Red Wings at the Pepsi Center.

“We’re probably the biggest D-corps, or one of the biggest, in the league,” said O’Brien, who played 80 games for Nashville last season. “At the same time, I think we can all make that first pass to get the puck to our forwards.

“And I remember playing against Colorado last year. They had no lack of scoring. I think we have a good recipe for success here.”

Hejda (6-4, 237) and O’Brien (6-3, 230) were acquired through free agency in July. Johnson (6-4, 232) and O’Byrne (6-5, 234) joined Colorado last season via trades. All four played at least 67 regular-season games a season ago.

“Size is one thing, but the guys we have are dedicated to defense,” Quincey said. “It’s one of the things we needed to address from last year. It’s the No. 1 goal going into the season — to support our goalies better.”

Said O’Byrne, “We have some size, some grit and some sandpaper back there right now, and it’s going to be a lot tougher to play against us.”

Last season, injuries to Quincey and Adam Foote, plus the trade that sent Scott Hannan to Washington for forward Tomas Fleischmann, weakened a blue line that was dotted with smaller players such as John-Michael Liles, now playing for Toronto.

Puck-skating defensemen Matt Hunwick (5-11, 190), Kyle Cumiskey (5-10, 185) and promising 20-year-old Stefan Elliott (6-1, 180) will play this season, but probably not many times together unless coach Joe Sacco is looking to get more speed than strength on the ice.

“When you are playing certain teams you have certain matchups, and maybe you’re looking for a couple more mobile guys, smaller guys that can join the attack,” Sacco said. “You need a little bit of a mix, a blend. We have that.”

The Avs are changing a strategy that saw them emphasize speed more than size in recent seasons. Sacco said big, durable defensemen should help keep opposing forwards out of the scoring triangle (defensive faceoff dots to the crease), help clear rebounds and intimidate players who choose to go after them.

“You can see in the corners, when there are 1-on-1 puck battles, the strength of some of those guys,” Sacco said. “It just wears on the opposing team. Not only can they wear you down physically, but they can skate too. They can move, they can check and really help eliminate time and space.

“And if you look at the penalty kill, it’s the same thing. You have big guys getting in the way of shots, clogging up shooting lanes.”

Ah, yes, the penalty kill. The Avs were the worst in the NHL last season, at 76.1 percent.

“Nothing against our roster last year, but we were a little easy to play against in our own end,” Avs forward TJ Galiardi said. “Take it from me or anybody playing against these guys (in training camp). They’re not easy to play against.”

For Hejda, who played in his native Czech Republic and Russia before breaking into the NHL with Edmonton in 2006, the Avs’ blue line reminds him of when he played for Columbus in 2007-08 with Foote and Mike Commodore.

“We had good size, and I know it was kind of scary for forwards on the other team,” Hejda said. “We should really be scary to play against here.”

It remains to be seen how Sacco and assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre mix their big guys with the smaller ones.

Johnson and Quincey play the point on the power play, as do Hunwick and Cumiskey, and Elliott just completed his third NHL training camp after becoming the all-time leading scorer among defensemen in the Western Hockey League.

Given their options, the Avs probably will keep eight defensemen on their opening-night 23-man roster. Some teams keep just seven.

“I like what our organization did as far as addressing some needs in the offseason,” Sacco said.

Burgundy/White intrasquad game

Tickets: Sold out, but for possible standing-room only tickets, call 1-800-666-8723.

The big guys

The Avalanche will begin this season with four “heavyweight” defensemen who were playing elsewhere on opening night in 2010. They average 6-foot-4 and 233 pounds:

The new guys

Jan Hejda, 6-4, 237

The durable, dependable 33-year-old from Prague, Czech Republic, is coming off four solid seasons in Columbus, playing in 81, 82, 62 and 77 regular- season games. He signed with the Avs as a free agent July 1.

Shane O’Brien, 6-3, 230

He is a punishing own-zone player who is geared toward producing big hits and making the game easier for his goalie. Only 28, he played in 80 games for Nashville last season. He signed with the Avs as a free agent July 13.

The not-so-new guys

Ryan O’Byrne, 6-5, 234

Acquired from Montreal early last season and played 64 games with the Avs, leading the club in hits (168). He was second in blocked shots (126).

Erik Johnson, 6-4, 232

The 2006 No. 1 draft pick was acquired from St. Louis in February and produced three goals and 10 points in 22 games with Colorado, averaging 24:33 of ice time. Just 23, he is still pegged as a coveted “offensive” defenseman.

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